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My wife was doing me a favor the other day and went to an electronics store to get some equipment for me. When she's getting ready to pay for it, the salesperson says, "Which term extended warranty would you like?" Not, “would you like an extended warranty?” And she said, “I don't want one at all.” The salesperson then proceeds to say, “Do you know whoClark Howardis?” And she says, “yes.” And he says, “Well, you know, when he shops here, he buys extended warranties.” And she says, “He does, really?” And he said, “Yeah. In fact, he came in recently and he bought a pair of headphones, and when he bought those headphones, he bought an extended warranty.”

I have never bought headphones at this particular specialty store. Well, my wife being the gentle lady that she is, said, “No, that's ok, I'm not interested.”

The guy had no idea that it was my wife he was saying this to. And this happens all too often. And I want you to know that my position on extended warranties remains what it has always been. When should you buy an extended warranty on electronics, computers, any type of purchase like that? Never, never, never, not ever. When should you buy an extended warranty on appliances? Same answer. When should you buy a warranty on an existing home? Only if you are selling the home and you want to provide it as a sales tool to a potential buyer, a confidence builder that you are providing a warranty. The only other exception to buying an extended warranty is, potentially, a car. You buy an extended warranty on a car if you know that you don’t have the savings to pay for repairs to a major component of the car. But with any warranty of any kind, remember this: they'll talk to you in the stores about how you're protecting your investment. Let me tell you something. A television is not an investment. A washer is not an investment. Whatever item it is, you're not investing in it. You're spending money to have that item. But I just want you to know that anytime anybody at any retail store tells you that I buy an extended warranty on their products, all you need to know is, they're lying.

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There's a new competitor for Groupon, and it could score you some cash.

AT&T has decided that it is ready to take on Groupon, starting in three of the nation's biggest cities. They are going into Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta.

Here’s how it works: it goes through one of AT&T's branded websites, Yellowpages.com. You simply go there to register. I did it and there’s nothing to it. You put in an e-mail address and your zip code. Then it sends you an e-mail and you click on that to reserve a $10 voucher at no obligation, no cost to you. That $10 is to spend on your first deal, what probably will be a typical half-price kind of deal.

On the issue of all the deal-a-day sites, their traffic is declining. There's also a lawsuit right now going on against two of the big daily-deal sites, claiming that the way the coupons expire is a violation of the gift card provision of the recent credit card law. That law says gift cards can’t expire for five years, and you can’t be charged inactivity fees until you don’t use the card for a year. The law concerning gift cards is much, much friendlier than it used to be. Whether it applies to daily deal coupons, that’s for the courts to decide.

In my own case, I confess that I've stopped using any of these deal-a-day coupons because I made the horrible mistake of buying one and then forgetting to use it before it expired. I mean, I didn't eat anything for three days to make up the money I lost on that!

But I just want you to know this offer from AT&T is out there. And I’m very curious to see if a company that’s so unrelated to discount marketing will be able to establish itself in the daily-deal market. If you live in any of those three cities, go pick up your free $10!

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Clark Howard helps you become a wise consumer. We know you're busy, and that's why Clark's tips are quick and effective. He'll arm you with the information you need to make smart choices. During these tough economic times, Clark wants to help you save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off!